I keep saying I’m not an astrologer (and I’m not, in the current understanding of the title), and then I write posts like this. Mars just entered Aries and, because of retrograde patterns, will be there until the beginning of January.

Let’s break that down. Aries is Mars’ home. In traditional astrologer terms, Mars rules Aries, but if we break down the ideas, it’s better put that is is where Mars is most comfortable, which a lot of us would feel is Home.

I like looking at the flavors in astrology, rather than the popular definitions of things, because then astrology makes sense to me, so let’s start with flavor of Mars (just to piss Aries off). People think Mars is about war and anger, which makes it all bad. Humans so like to key into the negative… Mars is about passion, motivation, getting sh*t done. Mars let’s you know what’s intrinsically important to you. Mars gives you oomph. So, yes, Mars can make you sassy, feisty, or even battle-ready. But it doesn’t *have* to.

I teach the occasional workshop on anger. It’s probably time to dust that one off, what with all of this ::waves hands::. Anger is just a call to action. It’s the passion that wells up inside of you, that lets you know what’s really important, that has the explosive energy tied into an energetic ball of plastique, ready to propel you to action.  It’s Mars, it’s Aphrodite Aries, it’s Sekhmet. It’s pure power. The only actual problem with anger is that we’ve been taught a toxic way of dealing with it.

You see, our entire society is predicated on keeping the majority disempowered. It’s how the system works. If the nebulous They can keep you in Fear, you’re controllable. If that fear attacks your survival issues, so much the better. I just read a fascinating account by a writer of color who got a job that supported him emotionally and financially, and so was comfortable pushing back on bad ideas at his part time gig. They literally had him institutionalized. If you start to understand how to access your power, they can’t control you. If you’re not ‘under control’, you’re not willing to be a wage slave and make them money just so you can survive.

Dealing with our power in a toxic manner makes us want to reject it, because we like to think of ourselves as nice people. What’s the difference between Nice and Kind? Kind has boundaries. Kindness is letting the stranger coming out of the bathroom know that she has toilet paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe. It is willing to tell the uncomfortable truth in the moment in order to prevent greater discomfort. It is willing to act for the greater good. It is empowered. Nice is always saying “that’s okay…” Nice is keeping yourself small so you don’t make waves. There is this horrific idea in some conservative (patriarchal) religious traditions that women should ‘keep sweet’. To keep sweet is to always defer to the man who is currently in charge of you. Call that what it is: slavery.

Right, back to Mars, Aphrodite Aries, and empowerment. Aphrodite Aries uses the energy of anger to heal, much like Sekhmet uses the energy of anger to transform and create. Mars uses anger to git er done. The secret is in using anger in an empowered way. If you’re not used to doing things from a place of empowerment, how are you supposed to know how to do that, unless someone teaches you?

Aries is chomping at the bit, so let’s take a look at what Aries is about. To be honest, Aries is always chomping at the bit, if you’ve tried to restrict him. Aries really wants to run free, not out of fear, but out of the joy of it. Aries is the enthusiasm of being out in front, leading the way, coaxing you toward discovery. Yes, Aries out of balance always wants the latest gadget or car or whatever their personal niche is, but that’s Aries harnessed, enslaved, given no option but the restrictions of a dis-empowered society.

No wonder that Aries is where Mars is at home. What happens when you combine passion with the drive for creative discovery, and you let it be in balance, empowered? All kinds of awesome.

Now, if you neglect the empowerment issue, this could go horribly wrong. It could be ego, narcissism, domestic violence, workplace shootings, or even useless war over hurt feelings. Sometimes against one’s theoretical support.

Between now and January, we are being offered an incredible, amazing opportunity to examine power structures, including issues of our own empowerment. Where do you give away your power and why? Is it based on illusion or Truth? Do the power systems of our society work, or is there a better way? How do you express your own power, your enthusiasm, your power? What do you do with the energy that wells up inside of you? What is the Universe giving us the opportunity to change?

There are people who have already been working on these questions, usually the most marginalized and obviously affected by the current system; seek them out, listen to their ideas. Don’t reinvent the wheel or assume you know better. Just listen, read, absorb; question your own assumptions and bias. Then figure out how to best support the strongest, most empowered ideas.

Remember, though, that both Mars and Aries require action. So give some thought to what you’re going to do about the information you find? And then actually take the action.